This is the story of the Red Star champagne, the champagne served aboard the Red Star Line ships … An authentic Antwerp story. The champagne is available on Rijnkaai in Antwerp, at La Cave aux Bulles.
“As business manager of La Cave aux Bulles, I was contacted in 2018 by the former curator of the Red Star Line museum, Luc Verheyen. He provided me with a document called ‘Wine Account’: a kind of drinks stock list that people kept on the Red Star Line ships,” says business manager Carine Vanderwegen.
“On that document are some well-known brands of champagne and also ‘Red Star Champagne’, the house champagne so to speak … Further research led me to Fagnières, the Champagne region, the Archives de la Marne in Reims but also to Frankfurt am Main and finally to Antwerp.”
“In the late 19th century, most of the big champagne houses had their base in Fagnières, among them Maison Fréminet et Fils. That was the manufacturer of the redescribed champagne. Later, most houses moved to Reims and Epernay for practical, logistical reasons,” Vanderwegen continues.
“To give an idea about the size of the house Fréminet et Fils: in 1910, they exported about 25,000 bottles to Europe (Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands …) and Russia, among others. The largest production of champagne was the ‘Carte Blanche 8%’, which, based on the name, we suspect was a 100% Chardonnay (i.e. Blanc de Blancs). That champagne eventually became the wine we find as ‘Red Star Champagne’ on the drinks list of the Red Star Line.”
Blowing bubbles
La Cave aux Bulles has breathed new life, say bubbles, into the Red Star champagne in 2018, albeit with a different assemblage from the original. Because the original champagne house Fréminet et Fils was bombed at the beginning of WWI and was not rebuilt.
With the approval of the archives of the Marne, La Cave aux Bulles is allowed to use the two labels that were deposited at the time. This is immediately the reason why two different bottles, label-wise at least, have been marketed. The assemblage of today’s Red Star champagne consists of 92% Pinot Meunier and 8% Pinot Noir. A soft fruity champagne, in other words.
Tasting
Always welcome at La Cave aux Bulles, possibly coupled with a tasting of Red Star champagne.
La Caves aux Bulles
Rijnkaai 17
2000 Antwerp
lacaveauxbulles.com
00 32 (0)491 34 21 56
